I Thought I Could Be Without You
by LaLaChihuahua
Summary: Sakura is colder. She doesn't talk to anyone, and she absolutely despises Sasuke. She's also been through a lot of adversities in her life since he's been gone. Will she end up loving him again? T for some language.


**I thought I would make a quick oneshot for a couple that I love: Sasuke and Sakura!**

**Sorry if it really sucks, but I decided to try!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any Naruto characters…**

**Prolouge:**

Sakura walked down the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village. It had been four years since Sasuke left his home, everyone, but most of all. Her. She trained hard since he left, surpassing Tsunade is strength, surprising the village. She wasn't the same fangirl that was in puppy love. She was cold hearted and non-caring.

Her attire changed. Instead of the warm, pinks and reds she used to wear, she wore blacks and grays all of the time. Sometimes, her shirts and pants would have a red somewhere on them, but not often. That was the only true color she wore.

She never talked to anyone. She secluded herself from all social events, and very rarely hung out with her friends, if at all. Her friends were one of her last priorities. Training first. Then medical jutsus. Then more training. Then her friends, if she didn't work at the hospital. Lately that has bee he second home, since the incident.

Right after Sasuke left, she wasn't like she was now. She found comfort in her friends and family. Then, her parents each took a suicidal mission, and you know the rest. She was miserable for days, and left their funerals early. She would sit at their gravesites for hours, even days, and a time. Suddenly, her attitude changed. She stayed away from everyone. Stayed in her house, except to get food and train and go to her shift at the hospital. She didn't eat as much, and over the years, she grew too skinny for words.

Everyone wanted her attitude to change. They wanted her clothes back to normal. They wanted her to actually talk ever now and again. But her attitude wasn't going to change for her friends.

Not even when…_he _came back.

**Welcome Back, Bastard:**

Kakashi made her go. She didn't want to go to Tsunade's office to see Sasuke again. For all she cared, he could go to hell and burn. But now she was walking down the lonely streets of the village, awaiting the moment she would see his heartless face again.

Leaving someone on a bench after they plead their love to you comes with a price.

And this was it.

She finally reached the designated door, the one she had been in numerous times before. She grabbed the door handle, turned it slightly, and stepped in the room. She saw everyone from Temari to Naruto standing in there, all of them used to be her best friends, but now, they were nothing but distractions from her training and work.

"Umm…good morning Sakura-chan," Naruto said hesitantly. He knew she didn't want to be there at the moment, and he didn't want to set her off. She merely nodded, and sat in a seat that he saved for her. She looked up at their fifth Hokage, as if telling her to start.

"Alright everyone," Tsunade began. "we are here for one reason. As you all know, Sasuke Uchiha has returned. Right now, he is meeting with the ANBU squad to see if he could return to being a Leaf Village ninja."

'Oh the joy of it all…' Sakura kept her insults to herself. Tsunade kept talking about random nonsense, like how he killed his brother, Orochimaru, and most, if not all, of the Sound Village. Just then, he walked in.

"Thank you for joining us today, Mr. Uchiha. Everyone, you remember Sasuke. I'll let you all catch up," Tsunade left the office. She was going to talk to the ANBU to see what they said about Sasuke becoming a new ninja.

The room fell deathly silent after she left. Until, our orange-wearing ninja broke the silence.

"Well, welcome back Sasuke! How have you been?" Naruto asked excitedly.

Sasuke didn't want to say how everyday had been a living Hell for him since he left the village. First of all, Orochimaru wasn't the greatest man alive and he truly missed everyone in the village. Naruto, Neji, Rock Lee, but most of all…

Sakura.

He missed the way she smiled, how annoying yet cute she could be, her happiness that always seemed to rub off on him, although he never showed it. He realized that he liked her. No, he LOVED her. And he wanted her to be his.

"I've been fine Naruto. Thank you," he said. Naruto grinned.

He looked around the room, praying that Sakura was there. He couldn't find her though, He didn't know she had changed so drastically. Then, Tsunade walked back into the room. She saw Sasuke looking for something, or someone. And she already had a feeling who.

"Are you looking for Sakura, Sasuke?" she asked. Everyone looked at each other, then made up excuses to leave. Five minutes later, everyone was gone, except Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Tsunade.

"Well, I better go train. I'll see you soon Sasuke!" Naruto left the room in a rush. Sasuke saw only one figure still sitting in the chairs.

'That can't be her! I mean, she's wearing all black! She's so different…'

"Sasuke, are you okay? You look a little out of it," Naruto said, his head tilted.

"Naruto, let's leave these two alone. I'm sure they have plenty of things to discuss amongst themselves," Tsunade said. They both left quietly, shutting the door behind them. There was yet another eerie silence.

"Sakura," Sasuke began. "You look…different." She merely shrugged her shoulders.

"Umm…aren't you happy that I'm back? I thought you would be a giddy fangirl-" she got out of her chair and pushed him into the wall. He gasped in shock. Not something he expected from Sakura.

"Let's get something straight here. I'm NOT your fangirl, I DON'T want to talk to you, and I want you to leave me the hell ALONE!" she stormed her way out of the office, leaving a stunned Sasuke behind sitting on the floor.

'Okay then…I believe she is mad at me…' he said to himself.

Sakura walked down the streets, going to her house. Her lonely, not so homey house. She unlocked the front door, went inside, and plopped onto her bed. She sighed and decided o take a nap. But she didn't hear the footsteps coming up her front porch. Then the body outside knocked on her front down, hesitantly.

"Ugh, who is that?' she thought. She slumped her way to the door and answered it. It was none other than Uchiha Sasuke.

"What do you want?" she spat at him coldly.

"What was that about back there?" he questioned.

"I thought I made it clear that I didn't want to talk to you ever again…" she replied.

"I just wanna work things out between us. And I want to know how you changed so drastically during the time I was gone."

"Look, I've been through a lot since you been gone and I changed my attire a little bit. No big deal."

"Your clothes, your attitude, your deep anger and hatefulness towards me; what's that about?" he asked. He wanted answers, and he wanted them quick.

She stood silent. She knew he wanted an answer, but she didn't want to talk about it, especially to him. She walked into her house, and he followed her into her living room. She took a deep breath, and told him her story.

"Okay. After you left, I was heartbroken. I really liked you and all you did was told me I was annoying and left me on a bench. A few months since that, I was depressed and admitted into rehab at the hospital for trying to kill myself. I thought I would never get better, and neither did anyone else. I would sob for hours, just crying, making myself fall asleep."

She looked at him. He had a look of pain on his face, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Nonetheless, he nodded his head, telling her to continue. She took a deep breath. This was the tricky part to tell.

"I was released from the hospital three months later, feeling as good as new. When I got back home, my father told me that he accepted a suicidal mission in the Village of Storms (yeah I made that up) and he was leaving in a few days. We spent hours together, just talking. Then he left, and was killed by an ambush. My mom was miserable, but she never saw me like I was. I didn't leave my room, I wouldn't eat for days, and I couldn't even attend the entire funeral; I was too upset to have anyone talk to me." She looked down, refusing to cry. Stronger, colder people don't cry.

"My mom told me a few weeks later that she also accepted a suicidal mission. I shut myself in my room again and cried for what seemed like days; it was like my world was crumbling before me. She almost made the mission a success, but the enemy attacked her alone with a few hundred people. She, of course, was killed." She glanced up at him, tears brimming in her eyes. She walked over and sat on her couch. Sasuke joined her, sitting only a few inches away.

"Then, I left my house and trained even harder than before, from dawn until midnight. Tsunade found me collapsed in the woods, exhausted from not eating and overworking myself. She rushed me to the hospital and admitted me into another round of rehab. I became colder in rehab. I didn't talk to the counselor they got me, I didn't do the exercises, nothing. One day, the counselor told me I was a hopeless piece of shit, and I attacked her. They released me the next day, so that I couldn't hurt anyone again. They watched me for days, and I just sat back and watched them too. They still watch me, but not as closely as before. And now, you came back, and I didn't want you back. You started my life of hell, and I still hate you for that." She smiled, but she didn't know why. She assumed it was telling someone what was on her mind for years. Then, a miracle happened.

She started to cry. Not profuse crying, but definite tear rolling down the side of her pale face. Sasuke didn't know what to say. What could he say? Just as she said, he had started her chain of disasters, and returning wasn't the greatest thing he could have done. She cried slightly harder, and he pulled hr into a tight embrace. She started sobbing, hugging him back. He felt so bad for her. He thought his life was hell, but this was a new level.

"Sakura…I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have come back. But do you want to know the reason why I decided to?" Sasuke pulled away for a split moment, so he could look in her eyes.

"…why?" she asked, her voice still full of sadness.

"Because…I love you, Sakura." She inhaled a shocked breath, and looked deep into his eyes. She could tell that he wasn't lying. He pulled her into a hug, and she wasn't sure of how she felt. She felt…happy. Like a million butterflies were flying in her stomach, and she didn't want him to ever let her go.

Se realized, she was still in love with him.

"I…love you too Sasuke," she whispered, but loud enough for him to hear. He smiled a genuine smile.

'Maybe coming back was a good idea after all,' he thought.

**Well, that's my oneshot! I hoped you like it, because I might write more in the future. So review please!**

**naruto.luv.llamas**


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